Caramel Apple Recipe

6 - 8 small apples, unwaxed, cold 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 cup honey Special equipment: candy thermometer, and lollipop sticks Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Push a lollipop or popsicle stick deep into each apple - in through the stem. Fill a large bowl 1/2 full with ice water and set aside. In a medium, thick-bottomed saucepan heat the cream and salt until tiny bubbles start forming where the milk touches the pan - just before a simmer. Stir in the honey. Bring the mixture to a boil. Now reduce the heat to an active simmer and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for about 15-20 minutes minutes or until the mixture reaches about 255-260F degrees. To stop the caramel from cooking, very, very carefully set the bottom of the saucepan in the bowl of cold water you prepared earlier - taking special care not to get any of the water in the caramel mixture. Stir until caramel begins to thicken up - you want the caramel to be thin enough that it will easily coat your apples, but not so thin that it will run right off. If the caramel thickens too much simply put the pot back over the burner for 10 seconds or so to heat it up a bit. I tilt my sauce pan so all the caramel forms a pool on one side, and use my other hand to dunk and twirl each apple until it is thoroughly coated with caramel. Place each apple on the parchment lined baking sheets and allow the caramel to cool and set. Makes 6 - 8 caramel apples

Tip Top Melon Sherbet Recipe

1 pound of juicy, extra-ripe, orange-fleshed melon 1/4 cup mild flavored honey (needs to be fluid, and you might use a bit less depending on the sweetness of the melon) 1/2 cup organic whole milk generous pinch of salt Cut the melon flesh from its rind into a medium bowl and puree with a hand blender. You will need 2 cups of puree. Add the milk, and salt. Now you want to sweeten to taste. If your honey is in a solid or crystallized state you need to dunk the jar in a bowl of warm water until it is liquid again. This way it will mix easily with the rest of the ingredients. Start by blending in 2T. of the honey and taste. If you think the mixture needs to be sweeter, add more honey. Keep in mind you want the honey to bring out and complement the flavor of the melon, not overpower it. Pour into an ice-cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Serves 4 to 6.

Broiled Stone Fruit with Sweet Cream

3 to 4 cups of seasonal stone fruit - I like to use cherries early in the summer, and move onto peaches, nectarines, plums, and berries as the season progresses. You can use a single type of fruit or play around with different combinations Try punctuating peaches with a sprinkling of raspberries and a splash of creme de framboise. You will need to pit your fruit, and peel it in the case of fuzzy peaches or apricots. Cut the fruit into bite-sized pieces. 1 cup organic heavy whipping cream, well chilled 2 egg yolks 3 T. maple sugar A splash of fruit liqueur (for example: if I am using peachs, I add peach brandy) Preheat the oven to 400F. You will need the maple sugar finely granulated so it can be easily assimilated into the cream. Take a pinch of the maple sugar between two fingers - if yours is particularly chunky or grainy, give it a quick whirl in your food processor to powder it a bit. In a large bowl whip the chilled cream and sugar until soft peaks form. Add the egg yolks and fruit liqueur and whip for about 30 seconds more. Place six individual-sized ovenproof ramekins (or tiny baking dishes) on a baking sheet and fill each dish 3/4 full with fruit.

Divide the cream mixture between each dish, covering the fruit in each dish. Place in the oven (middle rack) and bake for 3 minutes. You then want to brown the tops of the desserts - either turn on your broiler and broil until evenly browned, or in a pinch use a handheld culinary blowtorch. Warn people they are hot, but serve immediately. Makes 6 individual servings, or a dozen or so mini servings.

Larousse Gastronomique Sweet Crepe Recipe

Be sure to read all the tips up above as well, they will help you with many of the little things I had to learn the hard way Mix 500g (18oz, 4 1/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour with 1 tablespoon vanilla-flavoured sugar (or a few drops of vanilla extract), 5-6 beaten eggs and a small pinch of salt. Gradually stir in 750 ml (1 1/4 pints, 3 1/4 cups) milk and 250 ml (8 fl oz, 1 cup) water. Flavour with a small glass of rum, Cognac, Calvados or Grand Marnier, depending on the recipe. Finally, add 40 g (1 1/2 oz, 3 tablespoons) melted butter or a mixture of 25 g (1 oz, 2 tablespoons) melted butter and 2 tablespoons oil. Leave the batter to stand for 2 hours. Just before making the crepes, dilute the batter with a little water or milk - 100-200 ml (4-7 fl oz, 1/2-3/4 cup). It was formerly the custom to add 2-3 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar to the batter, in addition to the vanilla-flavoured sugar. Today the crepes are usually sprinkled with sugar when cooked, according to individual tastes. A more basic (but very similar) version of this recipe that also worked great was this one - but again, I would go through the extra step of straining the batter before cooking.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

butter for greasing skillet/pan (about 1 tablespoon) 3/4 cup / 3 oz / 85 g spelt flour 2/3 cup / 3 oz / 85 pine nuts, lightly toasted 1/2 cup / 1.5 oz / 45 g rolled oats 1/2 cup / 2 oz / 60 g natural cane sugar 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup / 2.5 oz / 75 g unsalted butter, melted 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/2 cup / 2 oz / 60 g natural cane sugar (or Muscovado sugar) 1/2 lb. / 8 ounces / 225 g hulled medium strawberries, cut into quarters 12 ounces trimmed rhubarb, sliced into 3/4-inch pieces 1/4 cup / 60 ml port wine (optional) Preheat the oven to 375F / 190C, with a rack in the middle. Butter a 10-inch round gratin dish (pictured), or a 9x9 square baking dish. Combine the flour, pine nuts, oats, sugar, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Use a fork to stir in the butter, squeeze into a few patties, then place in the freezer to chill at least ten minutes.

Make the filling by whisking together the cornstarch and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the strawberries and rhubarb, and toss until evenly coated. Wait three minutes, add the port and toss again. Transfer the filling to the prepared pan, remove the topping from the freezer, and crumble across the top of the filling - make sure you have big pieces and small. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, or until the topping is deeply golden and the fruit juices are vigorously bubbling. You'll want to let things cool a bit before serving, 20 - 30 minutes. Serves a small crowd, 8 - 12 servings. Prep time: 20 min - Cook time: 40 min

Peanut Butter Krispy Treats

3/4 cup unsalted peanut butter 3/4 cup maple syrup 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt 2 1/2 teaspoons agar agar flakes (available at a health foods stores) 4 cups unsweetened (or lightly sweetened) crisp brown rice cereal 3/4 cup pistachios, toasted and chopped Line two muffin tins with about 18 muffin/cupcake wrappers, and set aside. Combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, salt, and agar flakes in a large saucepan over low heat and stir constantly until smooth, hot, melted, and bubbling just a bit. Add the cereal and 1/2 cup of the pistachios and stir until well coated. Spoon two heaping tablespoons of the mixture into each muffin wrapper and press into place with the back of a spoon. Alternately, if you want krispy squares, you can transfer it to an 8 by 8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining pistachios and refrigerate until completely cool (this also helps the agar set). Makes about 1 1/2 dozen treats. Prep time: 10 min - Cook time: 5 min

Strawberry Panzanella Recipe

When shopping for strawberries I prefer ones that are on the smaller side, fragrant, and a deep red in color. The bread you see in the above photo is a loaf of Acme Bread's walnut levain. I suspect their whole wheat seeded loaf would be perfect as well. Use a serrated bread knife to cut the bread into cubes. To veganize the recipe toss the bread cubes with olive oil / brown sugar (but don't heat it) before baking, and skip the yogurt. 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons natural cane sugar OR brown sugar* couple pinches of fine grain salt 1 pound loaf of hearty, substantial day-old bread, cut into 1-inch cubes 1+ pint basket of ripe strawberries, trimmed and cut into matchsticks a 7 or 8 ounce container of plain (Greek) yogurt poppy seeds for garnish Preheat oven to 350F degrees. In a large pot melt the butter. Stir in the sugar and salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves and remove from the heat. Add bread cubes and toss, coating the bread cubes. Toss for a minute or so to get decent coverage. Pour the bread out onto a baking sheet and arrange them in a single layer. Toast for about 15 minutes or until bread is well toasted, tossing every 5 minutes to make sure all bread surface areas get golden and crunchy. In the meantime, place half the chopped strawberries in a small bowl and mash them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. I found a potato masher works well for this. Keep mashing until berries are super juicy and appetizingly chunky - this is your dressing.

When the bread cubes are done toasting (and have had a few minutes to cool and crisp up), toss them in a big bowl with the mashed berries. Add the remaining chopped strawberries and toss a bit more. Give the yogurt a good stir, and serve on the side garnished with poppy seeds (feel free to sweeten it a bit to your liking). Serves 6 or so.